EXCLUSIVE: Venk Potula has been confirmed for The Black List fellow Nerris Nevarez-Nassiri’s upcoming indie musical Key Change.
The announcement follows the securing of an SAG-AFTRA interim agreement for the project, which has allowed the producers to push on with casting.
Potula previously made waves with his lead performance in Ravi Kapoor’s buzzy Tribeca 2022 selection and IFC and Hulu-acquired comedy Four Samosas.
The new project is described as a semi-autobiographical tale taking inspiration from the Mexican and Indian heritage of creators and writers Nassiri and Potula.
Potula will play a struggling, ambitious music producer who finds himself juggling dreams and newfound responsibilities when a long-lost half-sister walks into his life as he prepares a career-defining showcase.
The film will feature four original songs written by Nassiri, who makes his directorial debut.
Producers are Briana Frapart, Arjun Yadav for RSA Endeavors, Potula for Khrisp Entertainment, and Nassiri.
Nassiri, a UCLA School of Film and Television graduate, has been recognized for fellowships with The Black List, The Disruptors, Theatre Now New York, and his work has placed in The Nicholl Fellowship and the Austin Film Festival Finals.
Frapart, who doubles as casting director, recently worked on the Max feature film A Hollywood Christmas and upcoming Honorary Male, starring Margaret Cho and Kevin Woo.
Yadav previously led production on feature films It Ends with Us, Code 3 and The Senior for Wayfarer Studios as their Manager of Production.
“We are tremendously grateful for the immense support our script has received and the opportunity to tell this unique Mexican-Indian family story,” the producers said in a joint statement.
“We believe the more specific the story, the more universal its themes become. This film is our love letter to the traditions that shaped us, and we’re excited to share a narrative that sings to the soul of diversity and the universal language of music. We also deeply appreciate the interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA that will allow us to start production on time.”
Key Change is scheduled to start filming at the beginning of 2024 in L.A. It is being financed by private equity, with many of the investors who backed Four Samosas making a return.
Potula, whose other credits include comedy Wild n’ Out and Veep, is represented by Grandview.
